Sunday, January 9, 2011

Welcome to the Sunday Surf! Here are some of the best links I've read this past week.

I am officially halfway through the pregnancy. If I believed in due dates and artificial time constraints for birth, which I don't. But, still. Halfway! It's amazing how fast a pregnancy can go when you're not obsessed with every day's progress because you already have a child and, you know, a life.

I was lying in bed last night thinking about the movement mileposts from last time. I had flown out by myself to visit my family after one of my mom's surgeries and was flying back around 20 weeks. I had been feeling movement on the inside for several weeks, but Sam hadn't been privy to it yet. Alone on the airplane, I put my hand on my belly and felt a kick from the outside. I was so eager to get home, to have Sam put his hand and feel his child for the first time. So last night, I was lying there thinking, When's that going to happen this time around? Come on, already. And wouldn't you know it? Kick! Right under my hand.

Sam and Mikko haven't felt it yet, but now I know it will be soon.

On to the links:

"TSA X-Rayed My Breastmilk" from Anktangle will get your blood boiling. I started shaking just reading this. Why won't the TSA follow its own rules? What can we do as citizens to follow up and bring attention to their cavalier behavior in regard to breast milk?

"Problems Only Toddlers Have" from ChildWild: This actually gave me some compassion when I walk in and find the same scenario. Maybe he honestly doesn't know how it got like that.

"Goals for this Work-at-Home Mother" from The Variegated Life: As far as real resolutions go, I need to borrow some of these and craft my own as well — for writing/business, for housekeeping, and for parenting.

"This means, when I’m reading The Lorax to the kids for the eleventy-fifth time this week—overdue and accruing library fines like dust on our ceiling fans—that I won’t be plotting e-mails or dinner plans. I will be attentive enough to notice how Rose’s eyebrows rise into crescent moons when the Lorax first appears. I will breathe in Col’s childlike awe, his marveling at the pure wizardry of reading."

"Seven Alternatives to Forced Apologies": When your child hurts someone else, it can create one of those really awkward situations as you try to handle both the social and the parenting aspects. I love these ideas for respecting both the person who was hurt and the person who did the hurting.

"Breast-feeding benefits academic performance 10 years later" from Los Angeles Times: Interesting if small long-term advantage, particularly for boys, if breastfeeding lasted six months or more. I thought it was helpful that they controlled for factors that could influence school performance, such as family income, education level, and how often the child was read to. (P.S. Don't read the stupid comments.)

"Of Parents and Poop": Ha ha ha ha ha…so true! I used to swear I'd never be one of those parents who talked about their kids' poop — yeah, that lasted approximately zero days. And I wonder when the next time will be that I consistently get to go to the bathroom by myself.

"A European perspective on routine infant circumcision" from Write About Birth: Interesting to hear what someone thinks, from an area where male circumcision is not routine — on how caring for an intact penis is not considered a chore, and the foreskin is seen as an important and functional part.

"Natural Childbirth: Changes In Sex Life" from Diary of a First Child: Honest exploration on the subject of postpartum sex with contributions of real-life experiences, including mine. I have a draft on the same subject that I really should finish one of these days, if only to remind myself what to expect again this next time around.

"But by doing it -- by getting on here and laying it out -- I can process it. I can understand why I was so frayed, what it was I could do differently. And also, I can admit it: I am a human. I am not perfect, and I make mistakes. I also love my child, and recognize my limits."

I've been there. So many times.

A couple fun giveaways at Natural Parents Network:

Modest Middles nursing tank top $30 {1.14; US}: If what you hate most about nursing in public is the squeamish thought that someone might see your tummy and stretch marks (raises hand), this cami is for you! What I love about it especially is you can wear any nursing bra with it, so it's perfect for large-busted ladies in particular who won't do as well in a typical nursing tank top (raises hand again).

Playful Parenting (Paperback or CD) $19 {1.29; US/Can}: Win the paperback or CD of Dr. Larry Cohen's #1 parenting book. This is a phenomenal book to get you down on the floor, communicating with your children in their most natural way — play! Playfully parenting can help ease discipline issues, smooth sibling rivalry, and foster trusting connections between parents and children. The book gives you specific ideas to put play to work for you and your kids.
For a thematically related post, go to The Mahogany Way to read "The Importance of Play" (picture from Darcel's post below). I'm not great at play. I've said it before and I'll say it again — I get bored playing. But I can see, especially as Mikko gets older and can verbalize this to me, how very, very important it is that he play — and that the people he loves participate in that play, on his terms. Today, for instance, we did multiple rounds of "presents." He would hide trucks, trains, and a stuffed octopus in an empty cracker box, and I would exclaim and pull them out, naming each one. Then he would promise me that he could "share" them. Well, of course, kid. He also delighted in giving me the box empty and cracking up over my feigned dismay when I opened my "surprise." What does he need from this play? Who cares. It was his choice, so we played it. Over and over. And over.

Did you see our Carnival of Natural Parenting — 2010 year in review? Dionna compiled the full blogroll (with Facebook and Twitter links) of every 2010 participant, and she also calculated some intriguing stats. For instance, we had 117 writers, and Dionna and I spent about 240 hours putting the Carnival together! (Wait a second, why aren't we being paid more?) We also each selected favorite posts from throughout the year, so check in to read on our top picks, and make sure you're on the blogroll. If you're not, that means only one thing — you should participate this year! Stay tuned for the January edition this Tuesday, on learning from children. It's a sweet one!

I didn't see the post over at Domestic Chaos - thanks for the link! And thank you for linking to me :) I am always in awe of all the great articles you read - I can't believe you're still operating on as little sleep as you do halfway through pregnancy! I was always so wiped out while pregnant, it's one thing that worries me as the mama of a preschooler.

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Riding the rails with my husband, Crackerdog Sam, and our hobo kids, Mikko Lint Picker (born June 2007), Alrik Irontrousers (born May 2011), and Karsten (born October 2014). Trying every day to parent intentionally and with grace.